


Day 5: marking & inkplay / horror fantasy

by elwon



Series: TentaTodd [6]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Fairy Tale Style, M/M, Mythology - Freeform, Tentacles, Tentatoddweek, elder god!Jason, sacrifice!Dick, tentacles as weapons of mass destruction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-27 17:54:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17771492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elwon/pseuds/elwon
Summary: “Oh.” Dick breathes out, taking in the handsome face of the god of destruction, all dark hair and blazing blue-green eyes, with high cheekbones complimented by a straight aquiline nose and a strong jaw. Dick’s gaze slips down to the God’s wide shoulders, strong, thick arms, trim waist and thighs that could crack a skull between them. He’s tall, easily twenty feet, if not more, and wild looking, rugged as a bear, with a mass of writhing tentacles coming out of his back, and yet, oddly young looking.





	Day 5: marking & inkplay / horror fantasy

**Author's Note:**

> This is tentatively called "They Took The Stars From Us." Because I think there's a whole world of stories in this verse that I may end up writing, and therefore this one needs it's own title.

Dick sits on the rocky outcropping at twilight, shivering in the cold night air. He’s naked except for a loincloth that does nothing to keep him warm. The castle in the distance is a steady beacon of light, and no comfort when he’s chained to a boulder at the top of a cliff overlooking the wide ocean. The shackle around his ankle prevents him from leaving, not that he would, even if he could. It’s a great honour to be chosen to be the Sacrifice, and ensure the health and freedom of his people for another century. 

He wishes the paint decorating his body in vivid blue swirls and loops had dried before he was escorted out to the cliff to await the god of destruction. Every slight gust of wind feels a thousand times colder than it should, thanks to the wet paint. He has a fear that the design on his back is running. Dick’s been told that the slightest imperfection can cause the god to reject the Sacrifice, as has happened for the last two centuries, leading to famine, war and strife.

The moon crests the horizon in the otherwise empty and dark sky, and Dick feels a change in the air. It’s warmer, somehow drier, and carrying the faintest tang of _something_. Smoke, possibly, or ozone in the air caused by lightning striking nearby. A quiet thudding sound begins behind Dick, the same rhythm as footsteps but impossibly heavier, and Dick doesn’t dare turn around. He’s been told not to; given strict orders to follow, but it’s hard to remember them with his heart pounding in his ears, as it is right now.

“So... You’re the latest attempt are you?” A deep, gravelly voice speaks, loud enough to make Dick wince at the volume. “You don’t look like much from here.” Dick bites his lip, trying to keep as silent as the orders require him to be.

“And why should I accept you?” The deep voice asks, stepping closer and Dick can feel it reverberate through his ribcage. He shuts his eyes and tries to keep his breathing steady. There’s a deep sigh behind him, as if the god is disappointed with his silence. “This is pitiful. Pathetic. Some might even say _paltry_.”

“I’m not paltry!” Dick blurts out, slamming a hand to his mouth before he’s finished. Damn it, he had _one job_. Stay silent.

“It speaks. Finally.” The voice says, quieter and less deep this time, as if the owner has realised that the previous volume and tone were painful for Dick.

“I...” Dick says, panicking and gripping onto the rocks beneath him with both hands, trying to ground himself in the presence of a god. 

“So, you’re _not_ paltry. What good are you?” The god asks, with a thread of amusement in his deep voice. Dick holds his tongue as best he can, considering all he wants to do is slip to his knees and beg for forgiveness. “Silence again? You’re starting to annoy me, human. Do you want me to leave?”

“No!” Dick cries out, hating himself for failing so badly. The god hasn’t even been here one minute and Dick’s broken all but one rule.

“Then turn and face me.” The god says, and there’s no arguing with that tone. It’s to be obeyed, and Dick’s turning before he can think about the fact he’s breaking the last rule now.

“Oh.” Dick breathes out, taking in the handsome face of the god of destruction, all thick dark hair and blazing blue-green eyes, with high cheekbones complimented by a straight nose and a strong jaw. Dick’s gaze slips down to the god’s wide shoulders, strong, thick arms, trim waist and thighs that could crack a skull between them. Apart from a simple pair of trousers covering those tree trunk legs, the god isn’t wearing any other clothing. He’s tall, easily twenty feet, if not more; and wild looking, rugged as a bear, with a mass of writhing tentacles as thick as Dick’s wrists at the tip coming out of his back, and yet, oddly young looking. 

There’s an air of not quite vulnerability to his face that gives the impression that he’s younger than him, although Dick knows that’s impossible. If it weren’t for the size, glowing eyes, the tentacles, and the sheer power emanating from him, he could pass as a normal human man. The kind of man Dick would offer his bed to in a heartbeat with no regrets. Dick can feel himself blushing.

“Not what you expected?” The god scoffs, looking quietly pleased at Dick’s reaction to him, before sighing again when Dick doesn’t speak. “See, this is why I didn’t accept the last two you sent. The lack of conversation is just rude. How am I supposed to accept you as the best of your people, if you don’t speak up for yourselves?”

“I’m not supposed to! There are rules!” Dick blurts out again, confused and anxious.

“What rules?” The god’s brows draw together, confused and irritated.

“Your rules!” Dick says, tamping down on the panic caused by angering the god. “You sent them to us three hundred years ago.”

“I didn’t send any rules... Why, that little viper, I’ll rip his head off and spit down the hole.” The god fumes, working his jaw while his tentacles whip around him furiously.

“Viper?” Dick clenches his fists, trying for outward calm while the god’s tentacles slam into the boulder next to them and shatter it, sending lumps and shards of rock scattering about and down the cliff face. 

“Nobody you know.”The god snarls. He stops snarling abruptly, forcing his face into blankness. “A trickster who likes making my life hard. I had wondered why suddenly you were all being so... Unwelcoming. That would explain it.”

“I... Uh. I’m sorry?” Dick says, trying not to wrap his arms around his waist, or to cower in front of the god. “We’ve suffered for it.”

“Hmmph. I take no responsibility for that.” The god says dismissively, but his tentacles slow down to a stop. 

“Oh.” Dick wonders if the tentacles are a good indicator of the god’s mood. The next thought he has is if he’s going to live long enough to find out if he’s right or not.

“Why are you chained up?” The god says, looking Dick up and down as if for the first time. “For fuck’s sake... Another one of the new rules?”

“Ah. Yes?” Dick shrugs. The shackle clinks against the ground and pinches against the skin of Dick’s ankle as he shifts from one foot to the other.

“Bat Bollocks.” The god mutters under his breath, one tentacle whipping out and wrapping around the shackle, flexing and squeezing it to breaking point without hurting Dick, with what seems like no effort at all. With a lazy wave of an arm that could have been sculpted from marble, a portal opens in the air. “Well, I’m going to my home now. It’s your choice to come or not.”

“What happens if I don’t?” Dick says, rubbing at his arms, worrying about the possibility of the God not giving his favour to their people for the third century in a row.

“To you? Nothing, I suppose.” The god shrugs. “Your people? Nothing from me.” Which is Dick’s worst fear confirmed.

“And if go with you?” Dick pulls himself to his full height, feeling tiny compared to the deity beside him. 

“Come and find out.” The god says with a smirk full of menace, hunger, and promise. 

Dick looks towards the castle in the distance, and he feels the chill breeze blow across his back. He’d accepted the position of Sacrifice knowing what it meant. He can’t run now. Dick squares his shoulders, takes a deep breath of the cold night air, and follows the god through the shimmering portal to the god’s home.

*** 

In the two weeks that Dick’s been in the god’s palace, he’s gone from anxious to confident. He’s about to take a hell of a risk, but the longer he leaves it the less likely his people will be safe. On his first night there, after being shown around the expansive marble hallways and feasting rooms, both full of floor to absurdly high ceiling windows framed by white stone pillars; all the better to show off the sky and sea view of the palace, and are so wildly different from the underground dungeons Dick grew up in; he’d tiptoed into the god’s private sleeping chamber. With his heart in his mouth, Dick had offered himself up, only to be refused.

_(“And why would I want you, little human? I’d tear you into pieces.” The god had laughed, reaching out with one tentacle to tenderly brush a lock of Dick’s hair away from his downturned face. Dick had flushed at the gentle, almost fatherly touch, reaching up to touch the same lock of hair, trying to keep the warmth of Iásōn’s touch there with his own hand. “No. All I require from you is to fetch and carry, and your complete unwavering loyalty.”_

_“I can give you that, Master.” Dick had said, both relieved, because there was no way he’d be able to pleasure someone that big, and disappointed, because honestly, the god was impossibly handsome._

_“Excellent. You can call me Lord Iásōn.” The god had said kindly, and Dick had felt suddenly at home.)_

Now, after two weeks of being well fed, fully clothed; trousers, shirts, jerkins for the cold _and_ warm, soft boots; and of sleeping in a comfortable bed, knowing that it is _his_ and he belongs here; Dick is ready to save his people. He reminds himself that being the lone servant in this palace that only holds Iásōn, he has some small leverage. It might not be true, but it helps settle his nerves a little.

“Master?” Dick says as he sets down the huge tray on the small table by the window, close to where Iásōn is sprawling in his cushioned chair, idly flipping through a huge tome full of symbols that Dick can’t read without getting a headache. 

“Hmmm?” Iásōn doesn’t look up from his book, letting the setting sun paint him a myriad of colours, golds, reds, pinks and violets, as if he’s standing in front a of a stained glass window. The god’s palace is on a cliff overlooking the now long abandoned town of Blutport, the first victim of the god’s disfavour three hundred years ago. Half of the town’s stone buildings have been reduced to rubble, and the other half are almost disturbingly perfect. Out of the window, Dick can see the spire of the temple, still glinting copper after all these years.

“I know what you want. I know where what you’re looking for is.” Dick says, lifting his chin and trying not to tremble. If his gamble doesn’t pay off, then his people are doomed. King Lex will only wait two months before assuming that Dick failed in his duty as Sacrifice and kill them all.

“Explain.” Iásōn says, looking up from his book with a look of indulgent amusement, like an uncle with a favoured niece or nephew.

“I... I need your help first.” Dick forces himself to stand straighter, looking Iásōn in the face as much as he can. Even when he’s sitting down, Dick barely comes up to his waist.

“Dick.” Iásōn says with a slight rebuke in his tone, although the smile on his face remains. He closes his book, keeping a finger between the pages, so as not to lose track.

“Please, Master! King Lex has my people in chains, locked up beneath the castle. I’ll tell you what you want to know, I just want the chance to rescue them.” Dick blurts out, torn between his newfound loyalty to his god and his bonds with his people. He can’t choose between them, and his plan since he was chosen as Sacrifice hinges on the god helping.

“You’ll tell me.” Iásōn snorts, looking amused. “And what do you think I’m looking for anyway? Hmm?”

“You... You’re looking for the egg of the Bird with Night’s Wings.” Dick says, nerves making tears rise in his eyes. “The first King Lex took the bird from you, and its egg. You’ve been searching for it ever since. It’s why we try to pacify you with a Sacrifice once a century.” Dick swallows as the smile falls from Iásōn’s face and his brows draw together in a frown.

“And you know where it is.” The god sits up from his sprawl on his chair. “And you’ll tell me where it is, if I rescue your people?”

“No, Master.” Dick clenches his fist, gathering up the fabric of his trouser leg in his grasp. “I’ll tell you anyway. I just want my people freed while you retrieve the egg.”

“And how do you, a servant, know where it is?” Iásōn says, there’s a faint trace of mocking in his tone, but he’s not being dismissive, and Dick holds on to that.

“I... My mother, Master.” Dick takes a deep breath, remembering her face, and the love she’d always given him while she was alive.

“Explain.” Iásōn says again, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, a spark of true interest in his eyes.

“My mother. She’d tried for years to have a child, with no success. She fell into a deep melancholy, and decided to throw herself down a deep pit in the castle.” Dick says, picturing his mother’s journey for probably the hundredth time in his life. He can picture it vividly, thanks to the amount of times his mother and father told him the story. “But she didn’t die. Instead, in a cave below the castle, she found an egg. An egg about the size of elephant, radiating warmth. She touched it, said it felt like the skies above, but it glittered with light. Like the old paintings? The ones with the night sky full of stars? It’s beauty, it stunned her so much, it gave her a new determination to try again at life. So she climbed out. And told me the story of how to get there.”

“She climbed out, and then you were born, despite her earlier problems, after touching it?” Iásōn says, tilting his head in consideration. That’s caught his attention, Dick can see, but why it has is beyond him.

“Yes, Master.” Dick nods, biting his lip and holding his breath slightly. This is the moment where everything turns. Iásōn either agrees to help, or Dick will have to live with the knowledge that his people are doomed and he can’t do anything to help.

“And you know how to get there.” Iásōn slips a leather string in between the pages of his book and sets it down, turning the full weight of his attention on Dick. It’s heady and terrifying, and Dick has to lock his knees to stop from dropping down to the cold marble floor beneath his feet.

“Yes, Master.” Dick confirms, holding as still as he can to stop himself from throwing his body at the god’s feet and pleading with all he has.

“And _all_ you want is to get your people out from Lex’s clutches?” Iásōn says, one tentacle reaching out to rest on Dick’s shoulder, encouraging him to take a step closer towards him.

“Yes, Master.” Dick’s hand moves without his permission, resting lightly on the tentacle reaching out to him. It’s warm and smooth under his hand, and Dick fights off thoughts about being held in more than one of them and _kept_ always. He can’t stop himself from turning his head to it and pressing a worshipful kiss there, though.

“I don’t see why not.” Iásōn says, slowly and considering. “I’m going to destroy that castle once I have the egg. It’s a small token of my appreciation to remove your people first.”

“Thank you, Master!” Dick smiles up at his god, relief flooding though him headily. Dick feels like he could _fly_. 

“Don’t thank me yet, Dick.” Iásōn snorts, amused. “You’ll be doing most of the work. And don’t think this gets you out of your servitude.”

“I don’t want to leave you, Master.” Dick blushes, looking away. This place feels like his home now.

“You don’t?” Iásōn’s eyebrows rise in surprise, a slow smile spreads across his face. “Good.”

***

In the end, rescuing Dick’s people feels a little anti-climactic, despite the fact that everyone’s safe. Iásōn opens another shimmering portal to the dungeon that Dick’s tribe is being held in, and waltzes through it as if it were simply a stroll down one of his long open corridors that are open to the sky and the elements, giving a wonderful view over the ocean. It surprised Dick to learn that Iásōn’s palace is only a two day ride from Lex’s castle. But that doesn’t matter as Dick follows Iásōn through the portal.

The looks of surprise on his tribe’s face when they walk in and start breaking chains will live in Dick’s memories for years. Dick ushers the freed people through the portal, letting each of them hug him as they go. His tribe had never deserved the treatment they’d received at Lex’s hands. That they’d had the misfortune to wander into this country while it was struggling with drought and famine was not something that warranted enslavement and imprisonment. It takes barely a candle mark to free everyone. 

Once they walk back through the portal to settle everyone in the palace, the rejoicing starts, and Dick catches sight of Iásōn smiling at the celebrations. For a god of destruction, Iásōn is strangely gentle and caring. Dick manages to approach his tribe’s elders, letting him know that the eventual goal is for them to rebuild Blutport for their own, but for now, the palace is theirs. The gift of a home is cause for even more celebration, and somebody finds some instruments, because suddenly there is song. Dick notices Iásōn give out barrels of beer, and loaves of bread and cheese, and Dick’s heart aches within his ribs. The god seems to view him as nothing more than a human child, but Dick realises that he’s falling in love. Iásōn catches Dick’s eye with a nod of his head, and Dick slips away from the celebrations.

“Time to uphold your end of the bargain, Dick.” Iásōn says with a predatory smirk.

“Yes, Master.” Dick says with a small smile of his own. Now isn’t time to think about his feelings. Now is the time to be loyal to his god, and retrieve the egg for him.

“I’ll be following you, so don’t lead me astray.” Iásōn says, and that smirk gets wilder, more vicious.

“I’m not sure you’ll fit through some of the tunnels, Master.” Dick says hesitantly, eyeing Iásōn’s height and width.

“Hmmph.” Iásōn rolls his eyes, and with no warning starts to shrink, until he’s only about half a foot taller than Dick. At that size he could quite easily pass for human, apart from the glowing eyes and tentacles, of course. They whip around him slowly, the same way cat’s tails do before they pounce. “Better?”

“Yes, Master. So much.” Dick says, desperately hoping that he’s not drooling, or otherwise making a fool of himself. The urge to climb those shoulders is hard to resist. Dick thinks for a second how easy it would’ve been for Jason to shrink that first night, and taken him if he’d wanted to. The rejection stings slightly, but that he now has Iásōn’s trust it’s almost better than sharing his bed, and soothes that sting away to nothing.

“Well, after you then, Dick.” Iásōn waves a lazy hand and a portal shimmers open showing the rough rock of the tunnel that Dick knows is the beginning of the journey his mother took.

“I’ll lead you right, Master. I promise.” Dick follows the path his mother told him over and over in her stories. Through this tunnel, turning right at the junction with the small figure of a woman carved into it. Through the old store cave with the empty and dilapidated boxes with Lex XIII printed on them, all with Iásōn dogging his steps silently. Dick takes to reciting the route under his breath as he walks. 

At the back of the cave, there’s a hidden tunnel, so easily to lose in the cracks and crannies and shadows, and Dick ducks into it, one hand on the wall, counting his steps. The tunnel, which for one hundred steps is flat and level, suddenly dips down, taking them lower into the cliffs below the castle. Dick stumbles, only avoiding falling down thanks to Iásōn’s tentacles catching him and taking a gentle grip of his shoulders and chest, as Dick slows his pace down to follow the incline. It makes Dick’s heart race, the feeling of being surrounded by his god. Iásōn’s warm and solid around him, and Dick’s never felt so protected.

Luckily, the tunnel is nearly pitch black, so his blush is known only to him. The rough wall gives way to a smooth patch the size of Dick’s palm, and Dick pauses. His mother had told him there was an opening to the right, and that after one more cave, there the egg would be. He takes two slow steps forward and sure enough, his hand goes from wall to empty air. 

“We turn right here.” Dick whispers, mouth and throat dry after not talking for a while. “Two caves over. It should be there.”

“Good work, Dick. This place is guarded by magic. I never would have found it. It’s been hidden so long...” Iásōn says lowly into his ear, and Dick tries not to shiver at the brush of air against his skin, and at Iásōn’s gratitude. They go through the opening, shuffling slowly, unsure of the ground. In the distance there’s a faint silvery glow, and Iásōn inhales a slow gasp as they move closer. Through the second opening and around a sharp bend, the next cave is illuminated by white sparkling light from the enormous egg. There’s misty, glowing, many coloured clouds against a black background. It’s truly beautiful. Dick can feel tears slip down his face. _This_ is what saved his mother’s life. 

“Is that...” Dick swallows, wiping away his tears. “Is that really the night sky?”

“Yes. That’s what we all should be seeing. But they took it from us.” Iásōn snarls, and Dick can see a tentacle whip through the air viciously. “I will take revenge on them.”

“I’ll do whatever I can to help, Master. Everyone should be able to see this.” Dick breathes out, and in the light coming from the egg, Dick can see Iásōn smile gently at him.

“We’re going to take him home, Dick. And then I want you to guard him until I return from destroying this place.” Iásōn says so tenderly that Dick can’t help but nod. “Thank you.”

Iásōn waves his arm and a shimmering portal opens up into a room that Dick doesn’t recognise. Iásōn starts to grow in size, letting go of Dick and reaching out with his arms and tentacles to pick up the egg. It really is the size of an elephant, and Dick can only imagine how large the Bird with Night’s Wings must have been to lay an egg this size. Maybe one day he’ll get to see it with his own eyes.

Dick walks through the portal, watching as Iásōn dwarfs it, carrying it as tenderly as he would his own child. Iásōn steps through the portal, walking over to a silken pillow that takes up most of the room. The portal closes behind him, while he gently lays the egg down. Dick looks around the circular room, to the side there’s a large opening in the wall, wider than any door Dick’s seen in the palace. There’s not so much as a shutter or screen to keep the elements out. He moves closer, and the view reveals that they’re in the tallest tower of the palace, overlooking everything for miles. 

It’s the perfect place to keep a large flying animal like the Bird with Night’s Wings. They’re incredibly high up, and while Dick has a newfound love for heights, even this is too much for him. He moves over to one of the glassless windows, since it’s a lot less likely he’ll fall from the tower from there. Looking through the opening, he can just see the twinkling light of Lex’s castle in the distance. Iásōn walks up behind him and places a gentle tentacle on his shoulder.

“I can never repay you for this service, Dick.” Iásōn’s tentacle squirms into his hair and rests benevolently on the crown of Dick’s head. It’s hard, but Dick forces his hands to stay at his sides.

“You already have, Master.” Dick turns to his god and bows, trying to show just how much this night has meant to him. The tentacle slips away.

“Watch over him until I get back.” Iásōn commands, and Dick straightens up, nodding.

“Of course Master.” Dick promises, faithfully. He’ll give his life to protect this egg, if it comes to that. But he doubts it will.

Iásōn waves a hand and another portal opens. He steps through it, and Dick turns to looks out of the window again. He can see the slight shimmer of light that indicates a portal opening on the cliff where he first met Iásōn. He can’t see the god at first, but he sees movement. After a few seconds, it becomes obvious that Iásōn’s growing in size, bigger and bigger than Dick could ever imagine. By the time a minute has passed, Iásōn’s feet are in the sea at the bottom of the cliff, and Iásōn is towering over the cliff face. He doesn’t stop getting bigger, until it looks like he could easily reach up and pluck the moon from the sky. He’s bigger than most mountains Dick’s seen. 

His tentacles whip out, massive and mind numbingly terrifying at that size, and they slam down into the ground of the cliff. The cliff face crumbles under the impact. Dick hears himself gasp, but he can’t look away from the scene of impending doom. Iásōn’s tentacles whip up and down, growing closer to the castle, even though Iásōn himself isn’t moving an inch. The damage to the earth is immense. If Dick wasn’t watching he would have no concept of how such a thing could happen. The castle goes down in three blows, and the surrounding town in only a few more. By the time Iásōn’s finished, the entire area is a wasteland. 

That Dick and his tribe were living there only a few short hours ago, is unbelievable. That anyone has _ever_ lived there is something that people will react to with disbelief.

Dick’s knees go out from under him as he watches Iásōn shrink back down to his normal size. He shakes and curls into a ball under the window. The side of Dick that only knows gentleness and generosity from Iásōn is warring with the knowledge of the divine destruction he just witnessed. It’s almost too much to bear for a simple human like himself. Dick gets to his feet, staggering with the shock of that much wanton carnage. Somehow, he gets over to the pillow the egg is resting on, and curls up by its warmth and light. It saved his mother. Maybe it’ll save him too. 

***

Things have settled into a routine in Iásōn’s palace. Dick’s no longer the only servant; most of his tribe have fallen into one job or other around the place. There are guards on the gates to the palace, the doors to Iásōn’s private chambers, and of course, the tower housing the egg. The kitchen is full of happy women, bustling about cooking for everyone. Building work is starting on the houses in Blutport, ready for people to move back into them. There’s a feeling of excitement and expectation in the air, the relief at their freedom echoed in the happy smiles of everyone Dick sees. 

The only one Dick doesn’t see daily is Iásōn himself. The god’s taken to holing himself up in the tower with the egg, watching over it almost constantly. The few times Dick has seen him, Iásōn’s been sitting next to the egg, one hand resting on the shell, and tentacles curling around it protectively, reading books to it quietly, much like Dick’s seen families do with their small children at night. Dick tries not to disturb them more than necessary, sorting out any petty disputes and squabbles himself. It’s strange having his tribe look to him for authority, instead of the pitying looks he’s been used to since his parents died, and then when Lex chose him as Sacrifice.

He thinks the stresses and strains of being in charge are what’s disrupting his sleep, as proven when the guard to the tower wakes him up with a hand at his shoulder for the second time that week. Dick blinks back to awareness, the cold marble floor under his feet, his lack of shirt, and the cool night breeze flowing through the open pillars of the corridors along the seafront. 

“Back with us, Dickie?” The elderly guard asks with a gentle smile, but there’s worry in his eyes.

“Ah. Yes.” Dick licks his lips, feeling the urge to move fade, and the desire to get back to his warm bed return. “Sorry. I don’t know why I keep coming here of all places.”

“Do you not?” The guard chuckles, giving him a knowing look that makes Dick’s cheeks redden. “Well, that’s a mystery to be solved, I’m sure.”

“I’ll... I’ll just get back to bed, then.” Dick mumbles, embarrassed that his feelings for Iásōn are obvious to everyone but the god himself, apparently.

“You do that, boyo.” The guard nods, leaning back against the doorframe with his spear still in hand. 

Two days later, he’s woken up walking through the corridor from the sleeping quarters by a couple of the bakers. Dreams, or maybe nightmares, of being cold, and somewhere dark, and so alone, are vivid in his mind until the sleep fades, and he looks around at the friendly faces of his friends and tribe. Sheepishly he sends himself back to bed, followed by gentle teasing and laughter. It keeps him comforted until he slips into a peaceful sleep again.

The dreams of cold dark solitude begin to occur nightly, and Dick finds himself waking up in all manner of places, sometimes alone, more often with people around. The worried looks he receives increase, and Dick starts to wonder if there’s something truly wrong with him.

“Dickie!” The old guard yells in his face, and Dick flinches back. “Boyo, if I hadn’t been yelling your name like that I would’ve thought you were awake!”

“I... No?” Dick rubs at his arms to wipe away the phantom chill.

“Mebbe you need to tell our god? He must know why you’re acting like this.” The guard suggests quietly.

“He’s busy looking after the egg. I can’t bother him with this.” Dick sighs, determined to deal by himself. 

“He took us on. He’s got a responsibility to us now.” The guard shakes his head in exasperation. “You especially, Dickie. Tell him.” 

***

When the egg starts to show signs of hatching, Iásōn sends everyone out of his palace to the town below. There aren’t meant to be _any_ exceptions, even Dick is supposed to go and stay in the newly renovated inn. The building work in Blutport is going faster than anyone expected, which adds to the festival atmosphere. Everyone’s in a rush to take food, blankets, and mattresses down to the inn, and Dick takes a few moments to sit down in a quiet corner and rest while the hustle and bustle of organised chaos happens around him. 

With all the sleepwalking he’s been doing; which he still hasn’t told Iásōn about; he’s been falling asleep whenever he sits down. Usually people let him catnap and work around him, but something must have gone wrong today, because when he wakes up it’s night, judging from the moon high up in the sky, and the entire palace is as silent as the first day he arrived. He rubs at his face, swearing under his breath. He drags his aching bones to his bedroom, hoping that Iásōn won’t notice he’s still there. He flops down onto his bed, asleep before his head hits the pillow.

“DICK!” Iásōn yells, gripping his wrist in a tentacle tightly, his face close up to Dick’s and eyes sparking with fury. Dick’s hand is hovering inches away from the egg’s shell, outstretched and ready to touch.

“Ma... Master?” Dick gasps out, wondering why the god has left his vigil to visit Dick in his bedchamber. It takes a few blinks of his eyes to realise that, no, he’s not in his bedchamber. He’s sleepwalked through all the corridors and hallways and up the tower to the hatching room. No wonder Iásōn’s furious.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Iásōn snarls, tentacles whipping about behind him in a frenzy.

“I... Master, _I don’t know!_ ” Dick cries out, fear and panic bubbling through his voice. Iásōn must believe him, because he lets go of him immediately. Without the god’s grip on him, Dick feels unbalanced, and then he begins to tilt over. There’s a cracking sound as the beak of the chick within the egg breaks through and Dick watches, frozen and unable to move as he tumbles down, falling into the egg. Distantly he can hear Iásōn bellow in horror, his name stretching out as Dick goes down and down into the shell.

He keeps falling and everything is darkness and feathers, until he slows to a stop, suspended in the black. Specks of light start to emerge from the gloom, illuminating him with soft glow. Eventually Dick recognises stars and galaxies, and the coloured clouds of the night sky. Dick stretches out to touch them and a supernova brushes past his fingertips. When it does, everything becomes one, and Dick’s eyes close and he spreads his wings, beak opening up to give a piercing cry.

He spreads his wings wide, and the cage trapping him finally, _finally_ , breaks. He staggers forward unused to such _space_... He sees a wide opening, big enough for him to get through, and he lunges for it, dimly aware that someone is calling after him. He falls through, and is surrounded by _nothing but air_. It’s perfect, wonderful, thrilling, and before he knows it Nightwing is snapping his wings out and _flying_ out into the night sky.

Stars trail out in his wake, returning to the sky as he soars, the heavens revealing themselves with each beat of his wings. He can feel the galaxies and nebulas float away from his feathers with each powerful flap. Sparkles of light and glowing clouds scatter behind him, making his tail feather curl out as they’re buffeted in the wind. He can feel balance return to the world as he flies far and wide, a sense of things returning to the natural order with each mile he travels. The light and skies denied to all are no longer hidden, everyone can see them. He flies until his wings ache, and the sun begins to crest on the distant horizon. He’s flown over oceans and deserts, forests and rolling hills, meadows, mountains, swamps and fells. As he turns, he races the sun back to Iásōn’s palace, feeling the warmth on his tail feathers.

He flies to the tower, where he can see Iásōn waiting for him, his tentacles whipping around so fast they’re almost a blur. He lands lightly, his wings causing giant gusts of air to swirl around the room. Iásōn’s eyes don’t so much as narrow in defence, and he stands firm against the air pressure. Nightwing steps forward, feeling his form change, his beak pulling back, his arms separating from his wings, and his legs lengthening, until he’s the shape of a man, albeit one with wings. He continues walking towards Iásōn, and his mouth pulls into a smile.

“I’ve returned home, my love.” Nightwing laughs, taking the last few steps with more speed and launching himself into Iásōn’s arms.

“Is it really you?” Iásōn snarls, holding himself so tense that Nightwing worries he’ll hurt himself. His tentacles lash out, ripping the pillow beside him to shreds.

“Yes.” Nightwing nods, wrapping his arms around Iásōn tighter. “I’m sorry I made you wait so long.”

“I don’t care...” Iásōn grits out, wrapping his arms around Nightwing’s waist easily. Skies above and seas below, he’s missed this warmth.

“Truly?” Nightwing rests his head on his lover’s shoulder, enjoying that his cheek only just rests there.

“Well.” Iásōn sniffs, and Nightwing knows he’s doing it to cover a smile. “You could have been a bit quicker, I suppose.”

“I am sorry. It took _so long_ for anyone to find my egg. I’d almost given up hope.” Nightwing sighs, tightening his arms around Iásōn’s wide shoulders. “And then poor Mary stumbled upon me! It was a miracle.”

“Dick’s mother?” Iásōn lifts a tentacle to stroke down Nightwing’s back, content to simply feel his lover in his arms once more.

“Yes. I sent my essence into her, a perfect trade.” Nightwing shakes his head ruefully. “She got the child she so desperately desired, and I gained enough freedom to finally find you again.”

“You... Merged with the boy?” Iásōn says slowly, hopefully, and the small, still entirely human part of Nightwing’s heart rejoices at not being forgotten.

“Oh yes. I’m still the child you rescued on the cliffs, _Master_.” Nightwing grins, his voice teasing. “But now I remember being with you from the beginning, rising from the swirling seas of chaos when the Bat called us to existence.”

“Death and Destruction, Life and Rebirth reunited, huh?” Iásōn shrugs, pulling Nightwing in tighter with both arms and the rest of his tentacles.

“After a thousand years, finally.” Nightwing smiles, nuzzling at the tentacle that gently curves around his neck. He presses a light kiss to the tip, feeling the soft skin and sighing happily. He leans his weight into Iásōn, who steps back, dropping into a chair and bringing Nightwing down with him to sit in his lap.

“I missed you.” Iásōn whispers into the shaggy hair at Nightwing’s neck, burying his face there to inhale the scent.

“I missed you too.” Nightwing says, staring deep into the glow of Iásōn’s eyes. “So kiss me, my love.”

“Since you asked so nicely, my love.” Iásōn breathes out, finally pressing his lips against Nightwing’s. The universe dies and is reborn in the mingling of their breath, heartbeat between heartbeat, as the gods consummate their love once more.


End file.
